The standby button is one of the most popular graphic symbols for use on equipment

Design in the digital age

According to MoMA, the exhibition takes its title from British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, who lit up the stadium at the 2012 London Summer Olympics opening ceremony with a simple tweet: “This Is for Everyone.”

One of the most popular of many

The power symbol, or more correctly the standby button, is one of the most popular graphic symbols for use on equipment, enjoying global renown.

As of March 2015, there are now 1 272 standardized graphical symbols from the IEC and ISO which form a multilingual Dictionary of graphical symbols, in English, French and Japanese. It is available at www.graphical-symbols.info.

Graphical symbols on equipment

IEC Subcommittee (SC) 3C: Graphical symbols for use on equipment, prepares International Standards regarding methods and rules for graphical symbols for the human interaction with equipment, including basic design rules for graphical symbols and the design of graphical symbols for particular applications.

Early beginnings

TC 3 is one of the first Technical Committees created by IEC. In the field of installations, systems and product engineering TC 3 deals with information structures, documentation and document content, including graphical symbols as well as graphical symbols for use on equipment.

About the exhibition

Is design in the digital age – so often simply assumed to be for the greater good – truly for everyone? From initial exploratory experiments to complex, and often contested, hybrid digital-analogue states, all the way to “universal” designs, This Is for Everyone explores this question with works from MoMA’s collection that celebrate the promise – and occasional flipside – of contemporary design. The exhibition runs until the end of January 2016 in the Architecture and Design Galleries, at MoMA, New York.

Gallery

The work of the IEC enters the realms of visual art

The standby button is one of the most popular graphic symbols for use on equipment

The symbol is exhibited at MoMA as part of the "This is for everyone: Design experiments for the Common Good" exhibition

Graphical symbols key role

General rules for marking, identification and actuation principles related to products play an important role, particularly in relation to the man-machine interface. Growing worldwide trade requires that the safety rules for electrical equipment and components are compatible. This is where the work of TC 3 and SC 3C come in to play.

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ABOUT THE IEC

The IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) is the world’s leading organization that prepares and publishes International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies. Close to 20 000 experts from industry, commerce, government, test and research labs, academia and consumer groups participate in IEC Standardization work.